Geale Ventures into the Eye of the Sturm By Martin Mulcahey, MaxBoxing (Sept 1, 2012) Special to Doghouse Boxing - Tweet

When
I lived in Key West, Florida, every time a hurricane approached, the
Navy launched a plane that flew into the center of the storm to measure
its strength. That is what Daniel Geale does
tonight, facing off against Felix Sturm in an IBF and WBA title
unification bout. Those are a rarity in today’s game and as such, is
notable even if it does not take place on American soil or television.
The titles are of little significance in the big scheme of things but
the boxer who emerges victorious will have proven himself a worthy
challenger to the middleweight throne currently occupied by Sergio
Martinez, who, ironically, is recognized as the king without possessing a
single alphabet belt.

Over
the last 10 years, the middleweight division has been morose and lacked
the vitality that showdowns between elite boxers delivers. However, by
the end of September, the entire middleweight division could be turned
on its head. The top four middleweight fighters are facing each other
this month, which I do not remember ever happening in this century.
Tomorrow, the number two (Felix Sturm) and three (Daniel Geale)
middleweights clash for the right to face the winner of next week’s
Sergio Martinez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. pay-per-view event. At the
bottom end of the top 10, Gennady Golovkin and Grzegorz Proksa engage
each other in an intriguing battle of rising stars. That makes for six
of the 10 best middleweights fighting one another, an uncommon treat for
boxing fans of this generation.

The
Felix Sturm – Daniel Geale match-up is a fine treat as well, matching
versatile boxers with proven track records. Sturm is the visibly bigger
man during face-to-face meetings but neither man has shrunk before the
cameras and microphones. “I have not been this strong in seven years; I
have improved 40% since defeating [Sebastian] Zbik (his last victory
five months ago).” Sturm told The Bild newspaper. Sturm thinks
he needs that boost in performance given his challenger. “Daniel is a
world champion and has achieved a lot. There is a big difference between
a boxer who has a big mouth and a true champion.” The latter, a veiled
reference to rival Arthur Abraham, who called out Sturm after winning
the WBO super middleweight title against Robert Stieglitz. That is,
perhaps, the future but the Geale fight is selling well with 7,000 of
the 12,000 seats sold by midweek and a full house expected.

Daniel
Geale became a champion in Germany, winning by decision, no less, and
is not intimidated by the atmosphere having experienced it defeating
Sebastian Sylvester. Geale believes Sturm is past his peak while he is
maturing into his prime. “It’s coming at a good time for me; Felix
hasn’t performed that well recently where as I feel I am improving with
each fight.” Geale added, “I simply like to fight here; the better the
opponent, the better I fight. My chances are extremely good.” Most
importantly, Geale understands how he must win. “I have to go out there
and win big. It being in Germany, I have to make sure I do it
convincingly, especially if it goes down to a decision.”

It
is no secret, and it has been an unspoken undercurrent during the
fight’s buildup, that Felix Sturm has gotten the judges’ benefit of the
doubt in Germany, especially in 2011, when a decision over Matthew
Macklin and draw against Martin Murray were roundly criticized by
observers outside of Germany. There was no denying Sturm looked
refreshed and lively stopping Sebastian Zbik in his last outing, a
fighter who lasted the distance against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and some
thought did enough to beat him. Sturm changed his training camp for the
Zbik fight, concentrating on speed and movement to accentuate his jab,
one that might be the best in boxing when in form. Against Zbik, Sturm
no longer allowed his opposition to build momentum through his own
passivity. Nor did he lack volume coming forward, pressing when he saw
advantages.

Sturm
admits preparations have not been optimal for this fight, with his
trainer missing large stretches because of commitments to WBC
heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. World-class trainer Fritz Sdunek
is unconcerned, explaining, “Vitali has priority because it could be his
final fight. Felix knows exactly what he has to do.” Sdunek spent five
weeks of preparation with Sturm at the outset and, as Sturm tells it,
there was little concern going forward. “We talked about everything in
detail, we also stay in touch over the phone and Fritz knows he can
trust me. Actually, this situation has given me additional motivation.”
Sturm has faith in assistant trainer Magomed Schaburow, who is
overseeing the final stages of training camp and with whom Sturm has
trained for 15 years. Sdunek will leave Vitali Klitschko’s training camp
to be with Sturm the evening of the fight.

Preparations
in Daniel Geale’s homeland were not ideal either, with the fighter
openly talking about a lack of quality sparring partners at his camp’s
opening. “We’ve tried extremely hard,” Geale told the AAP news agency.
“At different times, my team have secured different sparring partners
and, unfortunately, we’ve had about three or four that have fallen
through on us.” Finding someone to mimic Sturm is a difficulty in
itself. “There’s not too many fighters around the world that are too
similar to Sturm. He is a very good defensive fighter with very good
basic skills but we have been using a few different guys that have been
really good for us.” There could be acclimatization issues as well.
Geale left Australia on August 23rd, leaving some to question whether Geale gave his body enough time to adjust to time differences.

Jeff
Fenech, arguably Australia’s greatest boxer, wholeheartedly supports
Geale. “On a world scale, this fight is huge. I just hope the entire
country gets behind ‘Gealey’ because, right now, he’s the only
Australian boxer who is genuinely keen to go overseas and fight anybody,
who is basically saying, ‘Line them up.’” Fenech told Nick Walshaw of
Sydney’s Daily Telegraph. “He’s undoubtedly the one taking all
the risks to get himself the biggest fights and keep Australian boxing
alive. But I believe this is the biggest fight of the lot - and Daniel
can win it. Yes, it’s in Germany. Yes, Sturm has been defending his
title for years. But Daniel Geale is about to prove to the world exactly
how good he is.”

Co-promoter
Gary Shaw sees this fight exactly as Fenech. “This event is what boxing
is all about. When you get two world champions agreeing to fight each
other with no hesitation, you know the fans are going to be witnessing
an unbelievable bout.” Shaw believes this pairing has the ingredients to
produce a special event, one that brings out the best in both boxers.
“Both guys are hungry to keep their titles and they’re going to leave
everything in the ring. Words can’t describe how excited I am about this
event. Geale and Sturm are true warriors who are going to bring it come
fight night. It’s going to be an incredible night of boxing. The true
winners will be the fans.”

I
believe the winners are the boxing fans but do not see the Sturm –
Geale fight as having the potential to explode into an all-out war. Both
champions are tacticians at heart, who analyze and deconstruct
opponents with a scalpel rather than chop them up with a meat cleaver. I
envision shifts in momentum as each fighter counters the other’s
changes in strategy, with neither boxer winning three rounds
consecutively. The fight will difficult to score and the judges need to
be at their best to adjudicate which man was superior in the always
controversial “ring generalship” category. Graham Shaw, Daniel Geale’s
trainer, gave a sensible evaluation of the match-up. “Daniel Geale is a
thinking fighter and so is Felix Sturm. I’m sure there will be things
that happen in the fight that they both have to respond to that’s not in
the game plan.”

At month’s end, the current middleweight top 10 could have flipped and flopped in more ways and with more variations than a 50Shades of Grey novel provides. There could be a new “real” world champion if Julio
Cesar Chavez defeats Sergio Martinez and the winner of the Sturm – Geale
fight has earned the right to throw down an immediate challenge to that
supremacy. No matter how it ends, it all starts with the Sturm – Geale
clash on Saturday.